Abstract (Islet Core) The specialized islet biology expertise of the Islet Core will provide IDRC investigators with the capability to obtain high quality quantitative structural and functional studies of islets and pancreata from rodents, swine, and humans. Islet Core personnel will work closely with IDRC investigators to strategize attainment of complete data sets tailored to the needs of the particular animal/human cell model system. The Islet Core will coordinate with Rodent, Microscopy and Translation Cores to provide the most comprehensive analyses while utilizing the fewest number of animals, in effort to adhere best to the reduction policies of IACUC The Islet Core will function in the spirit of the mission of the IDRC in the following ways: 1)This Islet Core is unique in its ability to interface and obtain pancreata/lslets from the Swine Core, and in particular the metabolic-syndrome model Ossabaw pig, speaking directly to the point on fostering new knowledge. 2) The Islet Core will also provide unique Islet transplantation services which will dovetail with the Microscopy Core's novel intravital imaging capacity, also fostering new knowledge and supporting training in these novel methodologies. 3) The Islet Core adheres to the pledge for translational research in diabetes, by offering human islets to all IDRC users by having contracted as a core facility, obviating the need for individual researchers to apply for and be approved individually for IIDP human islet access. This will promote the Islet Core's expertise in islet transduction for secretion and imaging modalities. Lastly, the Islet Core is renowned for its excellence in biphasic functional characterizations of all types of islets, providing invaluable interpretive value to the many existing and planned rodent models of obesity and diabetes. The Islet Core will achieve the following aims: (1) To provide IDRC investigators with high quality rodent, swine and human islets (2) To provide IDRC investigators with state-of-the-art islet and pancreas characterization services (3) To provide IDRC investigators with training in islet isolation and analysis (4) To ensure evolution of core services to meet the ongoing needs of the IDRC Research Base The Islet Core will serve as an invaluable resource for the IDRC, providing investigators with the islet-specific expertise and training necessary to characterize islet function at a level that is limited to a relatively few laboratories.